How NFTs and DeFi Push Solana Into Top 10 Crypto List

Charts: Bitcoin Stuck Below $50K

The latest moves in crypto markets, in context By the CoinDesk Markets Team Edited by Lawrence Lewitinn, Managing Editor, Global Capital Markets August 30, 2021 Sponsored by     Bitcoin (BTC) -1.1%  $48,046 Ether (ETH)  -0.4%  $3,195 (Price data as of August 30 @ 11:00 UTC) If you were forwarded this newsletter and would like to receive it, sign up here.  Good morning, and welcome to First Mover. Here's what's happening this morning: Market Moves: Solana, Boosted by Move Into NFTs, Enters List of Top 10 Cryptocurrencies by Market Cap Institutional demand for SOL has increased in recent weeks. Technician's Take: Bitcoin Holding Support; Stuck Below $50K Resistance Buyers could remain active above the $42K-$45K support zone. And check out the CoinDesk TV show "First Mover," hosted by Michael Casey, Zack Seward and me at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern time. Today the show will feature guests: Hester Peirce, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Michael Venuto, Toroso Investments – Lawrence Lewitinn Biggest Movers These are some of the biggest movers over the past 24 hours:   Gainers: NuCypher (NU): +14.8% District0x (DNT): +8.5% Fetch.ai (FET): +6.3%   Losers: Bitcoin Cash (BCH): -4.7% Polkadot (DOT): -3.6% Chainlink (LINK): -3.0% EOS (EOS): -2.9% Litecoin (LTC): -2.8% Algorand (ALGO): -2.7% A message from ByBit Earn up to $600 when you sign up with Bybit.   Bybit is one of the top crypto exchanges on Bloomberg.   Trade Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE) and more!   Check out all of our exciting promotions! Lots of attractive bonuses are available when you sign up with us.   Spot, derivatives trading and other options available.   Sign Up Now! Market Moves by Omkar Godbole Solana, Boosted by Move Into NFTs, Enters List of Top 10 Cryptocurrencies by Market Cap Solana's SOL token is now one of the biggest cryptocurrencies by market value, thanks to growing institutional interest and the boom in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized finance (DeFi).   At the going price of $93, the token's market capitalization stands at $26.86 billion, or the ninth-largest in the crypto markets and ahead of polkadot's $25.7 billion, per data source Messari. The cryptocurrency's price hit a record high of $96 early today and has more than doubled since Aug. 15.   "Institutional demand for SOL has increased in recent weeks," crypto financial services firm Amber Group said in a Telegram chat with CoinDesk. On Tuesday, Osprey Funds registered the Osprey Solana Trust with the U.S. securities regulators in a bid to give wealthy investors access to the SOL token.   "Generally speaking, money has been flowing into Ethereum alternatives like Solana, Cosmos, Luna, and Avalanche," Amber Group said. The tokens of these smart contract platforms have each rallied by more than 80% against Ethereum's native coin ether over the past four weeks.   SOL picked up a strong bid two weeks ago after Solana forayed into the booming NFT space with the launch of Degenerate Ape Academy. It was a smash-hit debut, with a collection of 10,000 unique pictures of cartoon apes sold in the first ten minutes. That drove SOL higher as people needed to buy the cryptocurrency to purchase apes.   "Once people bought SOL and experienced the speed and low transaction costs for themselves, they got more bullish," Packy McCormick, the author of the Not Boring newsletter, noted in a recent essay titled Solana Summer.   Other developments such as real-time data feeder Pyth Network's debut on Solana's blockchain may have added to the token's positive momentum.   A continued boom in NFT could bring more gains for SOL. According to Amber Group, the theory of reflexivity or positive feedback loop appears to play in the NFT market. "There is a supply crisis and opacity of price discovery. So price bands are wide, and gap up appears to be the trend for now," Amber Group said. Solana (SOL) daily chart (Source: TradingView) From a technical analysis standpoint, the path of least resistance for SOL is on the higher side, according to Bill Noble, chief technical analyst at Token Metrics, a cryptocurrency research company, said. "The next upside targets are $89 [already flipped into support] and $145," Noble told CoinDesk on Friday. "This is, of course, contingent on the overall market staying positive." ($145 is the 161.8% Fibonacci extension level.)   "Aside from a crash in the market, I don't think anything is going to stop this coin," Noble said. "Solana is probably going to be a big platform for both DeFi and NFTs." Katie Stockton, founder, and managing partner at Fairlead Strategies told CoinDesk in an email that charts show no signs of uptrend exhaustion, and further gains could be in the making.   Read the original story here: Solana, Boosted by Move Into NFTs, Enters List of Top 10 Cryptocurrencies by Market Cap Technician's Take by Damanick Dantes, CMT Bitcoin Holding Support; Stuck Below $50K Resistance Bitcoin (BTC, -1.43%) is consolidating after buyers took profits near the $50,000 resistance level last week. The cryptocurrency is holding support around $48,000 and is down 3% over the past seven days.   The breakout above $42,000 and $46,000 could keep buyers active at support, which should relieve some upside exhaustion signals on the charts. Bitcoin four-hour price chart. (Source: TradingView)   Bitcoin is holding the 100-period moving average on the four-hour chart, which consistently provided support on pullbacks over the past week. However, upside appears to be limited towards $50,000-$55,000 given signs of slowing momentum and strong overhead resistance. The relative strength index (RSI) is declining from overbought levels on both the four-hour and daily chart. This typically reflects a healthy consolidation after a series of price breakouts.   Read the original story here: Bitcoin Holding Support; Stuck Below $50K Resistance A Message from ErisX ErisX provides an arsenal of trading tools for all levels of traders from novice to seasoned.  Choose from our Trading UI, Websocket API, or Algo Machine™ to  automate your trading strategies without having to write code. Algo features include "pegged order" and "order-on-fill". Members also get access to exclusive charts, overlays and technical analysis from Trading Central.  Watch educational videos in our media gallery and start trading today!   Open an account, refer a friend, and you are both rewarded $50 after they make their first trade. BOLO Be on the look out for some of these upcoming events: Earnings: TBD: Canaan (CAN) ICYMI In case you missed it, here are the most recent episodes of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV:     Crypto Markets Await Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Speech on Tapering Roadmap, OpenSea's Explosive Growth in the New Frontier of NFTs "First Mover" dives into the booming NFT markets with OpenSea Head of Product Nate Chastain, as OpenSea posts record monthly trading volume of more than $1.5 billion. Will NFTs be the best coming out of crypto? Plus, bitcoin price analysis from Coinberry CEO Andrei Poliakov as investors await Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech on the tapering roadmap. A Message from CoinDesk Introducing Crypto for Advisors, a weekly newsletter built specifically for financial advisors (FAs) and registered investment advisors (RIAs). Crypto for Advisors, delivered every Thursday, is designed to inform and educate financial professionals who seek to incorporate this rapidly moving asset class into their work. Subscribe to Crypto for Advisors today. Latest Headlines China to Build Global Clearing Network for Mobile Payments, Using Digital Yuan: State Media RMB internationalization is inevitable, wrote People's Daily. Standard Chartered to Launch Blockchain Trade Finance Platform in Joint Venture The Olea platform will leverage blockchain tech in a bid to connect institutional investors to businesses requiring supply chain financing. Mining Firm The9 to Launch NFT Platform in Q4 The Shanghai firm is the latest to enter the booming digital collectibles market. DeFi Protocol Cream Finance Hacked for Second Time This Year The attacked drained just over $25 million of AMP tokens and ether. SOL Hits Record High, Climbs Above $100 as Total Value Locked on Solana Crosses $3B Solana draws a three-figure price for the first time as boom in DeFI, NFTs continues and token-burn speculation grips markets. KuCoin Registers Record 2M New Users in Second Quarter African crypto markets hit a "major" developmental point, with trading volumes climbing 20-fold, the exchange said.   Disclaimer: The information presented in this message is intended as a news item that provides a brief summary of various events and developments that affect, or that might in the future affect, the value of one or more of the cryptocurrencies described above. The information contained in this message, and any information liked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. The information presented herein is accurate only as of its date, and it was not prepared by a research analyst or other investment professional. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency before deciding to purchase or sell any such instruments.  First Mover A newsletter from CoinDesk Copyright © 2021 CoinDesk, All rights reserved.  250 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10003, USA You can manage your preferences here or unsubscribe from all CoinDesk email.